2 glasses of wine are a cancer risk

WOMEN who drink just two small glasses of wine a day increase their risk of breast cancer by more than half, shocking research has revealed.

Women who drink three to six glasses a week can increase their risk by 15 per cent.

An extensive US study found that women who drink three to six glasses a week can increase their risk by 15 per cent.

But that shoots up to 51 per cent in women who have at least two glasses every day.

Regular drinking from the age of 18 increases risk, even in those who cut back after hitting 40.

The study followed 106,000 women over 30 years; 7,690 eventually had breast cancer.

The research, by Dr Wendy Chen at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, is published in The Journal Of The American Medical Association.

Professor Karol Sikora, medical director of CancerPartnersUK said: “Make sure you eat a balanced diet with fruit and vegetables, do lots of exercise and stay slim. This should counter the effects of the odd glass of wine.”

Regular drinking from the age of 18 increases risk, even in those who cut back after hitting 40.

In Britain 12,000 women die from breast cancer every year – a quarter of those diagnosed.